CLEMSON, SC - The Clemson volleyball team got off to a strong start as they opened the Big Orange Bash with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-12) win over Coastal Carolina on Friday in Jervey Gymnasium. The Tigers hit .373 in the match, as junior Mo Simmons and Sophomore Kristin Faust combined for 23 kills in the match.

The win was No. 399 at Clemson for Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover, who will get her first crack at number-400 at noon on Saturday against South Carolina State. The Tigers also play Xavier on Saturday at 6:00 pm in the closing match of the tournament. In other action, Coastal Carolina will take on Xavier at 10:00 am, and South Carolina State plays Coastal Carolina at 4:00 pm.

Both of Clemson's Saturday matches are available on TigerCast for free in HD on ClemsonTigers.com.

Clemson rode strong offense the whole match in taking down the Chanticleers. Setter Hannah Brenner was extremely efficient, turning 31 of her 54 sets into kills for her teammates. The junior also added two kills, eight digs, a service ace, and a solo block on the evening.

With Clemson’s senior-laden roster, it was the underclassmen who showed their mettle on Friday, as Faust tallied a team-high 14.5 points on ten kills, a career-high four aces, and a block assist. Simmons was equally impressive, putting up 13 kills with no attack errors and hitting .650 for the match, just .002 off her career best set last season.

The senior class was quiet but productive. Alexa Rand had seven kills and two blocks on the night, inching to within three of 500 for her career. Natalie Patzin chipped in with a match-high 12 digs, and Sandra Adeleye and Serenat Yaz combined for 11 kills in just 26 combined swings.

The match went Clemson’s way early, as they tallied the match’s first three points in the blink of an eye. Clemson ran out to a 10-3 lead behind kills from Simmons, Brenner, and Yaz, forcing a CCU timeout. Clemson could not totally pull away, as the Chanticleers hung around, coming to within three at 20-17, but could get no closer, as the Tigers took five of the next six points, clinching the set on a Simmons kill. For the frame, she had five kills in seven swings.

Coastal took advantage of some sloppy Clemson play in the second set, as the score was tied at 10-10 after a Faust service error. But Clemson clawed back, outscoring the Chanticleers 15-5 the rest of the way en route to a 25-15 set win to go into intermission.

Clemson came out with a purpose in trying some different things offensively. Coastal had the set tied at four before Clemson went on a 10-4 run to blow things open and cruise to a 25-12 set win.